I visited Egypt with one specific goal. To swim in the Red Sea.
Afterward, I looked around and fell in love with the culture, history, desert…everything. I also learned that there’s a rich tapestry of ancient and modern practices reflecting the country’s deep connection to spirituality and the afterlife.
Now, as a traveling death doula, I want to share with you, dear reader, some of their most interesting practices.
Ancient Egyptian Death Rituals
By comparing ancient and modern death practices, I explore how Egypt’s views on death and the afterlife have evolved while maintaining a profound spiritual continuity.
Mummification
Ancient Egyptians, like the ancient Incans, believed in the preservation of the body for the afterlife. The mummification process, which involved embalming and wrapping the body, was central to ensuring that the deceased’s soul (ka) could recognize and reunite with the body.
They removed organs and stored them in canopic jars while allowing the heart to remain in the body. They believed the heart would be weighed against the feather of Ma’at (truth and justice).
More on that later.
The Book of the Dead in Egypt
Egyptians believed this collection of spells, prayers, and incantations guided the deceased through the challenges of the afterlife. It also ensured their safe passage.
As a student of Tibetan Buddhism and Tonglen meditation, I have a great deal of experience utilizing the Tibetan Book of the Dead. To me, the titles and some imagery were so similar. However, unlike the Tibetan Book of the Dead, this text centers on the physical body’s afterlife rather than the mind and consciousness. Egyptians often buried the texts with the dead.
Funerary Offerings and Tombs
The wealthier Egyptians would build elaborate tombs. They filled them with goods the dead might need on their journey—food, furniture, and even servants (in figurine form). They also inscribed tombs with religious texts to protect the soul.
Mourners performed various rituals and prayers during the funeral. They did this to protect and guide the dead loved one. The Opening of the Mouth Ceremony, for instance, symbolically restored the senses of the deceased. This allowed them to see, hear, speak, and eat in the afterlife.
The Most Important Journey
In ancient Egypt, people believed the journey to the afterlife was a complex and perilous path. But their beliefs mandated that the soul navigates this after death. Such navigation involved various stages, trials, and divine judgments. Ultimately the deceased would reach the Field of Reeds (the ideal afterlife) or face obliteration. Their fantastical stories about the afterlife reminded me of similar stories in Iceland mythology.
Egyptians believed that the soul was made up of different parts:
- Ka: This life force remained with the body after death. Loved ones made offerings to sustain it.
- Ba: The personality of the deceased traveled between the living world and the afterlife.
- Akh: The transfigured spirit moved freely in the afterlife. For the deceased to reach the afterlife, these aspects must unite along the journey.
The Duat
The underworld, or Duat, was a dangerous realm. Duat held obstacles, gods, demons, and monsters. The deceased journeyed through various levels of trials, including encounters with serpents, lakes of fire, and gates guarded by fierce beings.
The deceased needed knowledge and spells from the Book of the Dead to overcome these dangers.
Gods and Divine Beings
Gods such as Osiris (god of the afterlife), Anubis (god of mummification and protector of the dead), and Ra (the sun god) watched over the journey. The soul might face divine questions or challenges as it moves through this liminal space.
For example, it might need to recite specific incantations. Reciting helped them gain passage through gates or survive the Duat’s dangerous terrain.
The sun god, Ra, traveled through Duat each night. This symbolized death and rebirth. The deceased’s journey through the underworld was thus seen as aligning with the daily cycle of the sun. Their successful passage through the Duat could mirror Ra’s rebirth at dawn.
The Weighing of the Heart
Let’s discuss one of the most important and final tests in the journey to the afterlife. Osiris presiding over the Weighing of the Heart ceremony.
In this judgment, Osiris considered the deceased’s heart the seat of emotions, intellect, and morality. They weighed it against Ma’at’s feather. She was the goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order. Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing, recorded the result of this weighing. Anubis also oversaw the process.
If they found the heart to be as light as the feather, it meant the person had lived a righteous life. Then they could pass into the afterlife. If they found the heart heavy with sin, bad news. Ammit, a fearsome creature with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus would devour it.
This meant eternal annihilation, a fate worse than death for the people of Egypt. The soul would cease to exist.
Entry into the Field of Reeds (Aaru)
If the deceased passed the judgment, they would be allowed entry into Aaru. Souls enjoyed eternal life in a paradise resembling an idealized version of Egypt. A lush, fertile landscape with abundant crops, water, and all the pleasures of earthly life.
The deceased reunited with loved ones. They tended to their fields and lived in eternal bliss. For the Egyptians, eternity didn’t mean spiritual detachment. They considered bliss a continuation of earthly life, albeit free of hardships.
Offerings and Sustenance
Even after the deceased had reached the afterlife, their survival there depended on the living making regular offerings. Family members made food offerings and recited prayers for the deceased. This ensured their ka (life force) flourished and could continue thriving in the afterlife.
They even equipped tombs with a false door through which the ka could receive these offerings.
As the ruler of the underworld and god of resurrection, Osiris played a pivotal role. His myth, in which he was murdered by his brother Set and resurrected by his wife, Isis, became a powerful symbol of death and rebirth. Every deceased person in Egypt was believed to have taken on the form of Osiris in the afterlife. They went through the same transformation and resurrection that he experienced.
Modern Egyptian Death Rituals
Today, the majority of Egyptians are Muslim, and their death rituals follow Islamic traditions.
- Close family members of the same gender wash the body and shroud it in a simple white cloth. This is similar to the tarahah ritual in Judaism.
- Mourners hold a special funeral prayer, Salat al-Janazah, at the mosque or graveside. It is a collective prayer asking for the deceased’s forgiveness and blessing.
- Islamic tradition emphasizes the need for a swift burial, often within 24 hours of death. They place the body directly in the ground without a coffin and position the deceased to face Mecca.
- After the burial, families traditionally observe three days of mourning, where friends and relatives visit, recite Quranic verses, and offer condolences.
- On the 40th day after the death, mourners often hold a special prayer service. This is seen as a pivotal moment in the transition of the soul. Some families hold annual remembrances where they recite the Quran and pray for the deceased.
- In rural areas, women may wail, cry, and recite poems of mourning, expressing sorrow in communal gatherings. However, Islamic teachings discourage excessive displays of grief, promoting a sense of acceptance and peace with God’s will.
What ancient or modern death rituals speak to you? If you want to discuss mourning, and loss, or plan for your own end-of-life experience, get in touch with me today.
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